Laura Pollán

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Cuban
human rights defender Laura Pollán, who died Friday from
respiratory complications at a Havana hospital, fought a mighty battle against
the Cuban government for almost a decade. Pollán, 63, leaves behind her husband,
the award-winning independent journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, and a daughter.
She also leaves a legacy of determination, courage, and creativity. Her powerful
belief in justice was ultimately rewarded when dozens of wrongly imprisoned dissidents
and journalists, including her husband, were freed from prison over the last
two years, in large part due to her efforts.

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When I wake up and sense my
husband's body next to mine, I ask myself if I'm dreaming or if it is true that
he has returned to our home.

Eight years have passed since 75
Cubans were uprooted from their homes for thinking differently than the
governmental discourse and having the courage to express it publicly. So many
days and nights of agony and suffering for their parents, wives, children, and
grandchildren; so much accumulated pain. But the important thing is that they
couldn't uproot our love. Our love gave us the motivation needed to undertake a
tenacious and constant fight for the release of our loved ones.

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New
York, February 14, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Cuban
authorities today to place no conditions on the release of journalist Héctor
Maseda Gutiérrez, who was freed on parole Saturday. Maseda Gutiérrez is a founding member of the independent
news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro and a winner of CPJ's International Press
Freedom Award in 2008.